Jeff Landry on Environment

Stop considering manure as pollutant or hazardous.

Landry co-sponsored Superfund Common Sense Act

Congressional Summary:Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to exclude manure from the definition of "hazardous substance" and "pollutant or contaminant" for purposes of such Act. Defines "manure" to mean:

digestive emissions, feces, urine, urea and other excrement from livestock;

any associated bedding, compost, raw materials or other materials commingled with such excrement from livestock;

any process water associated with such items; and

any byproducts, constituents, or substances contained in, or originating from, such items or any emissions relating to such items.

Amends the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 to exempt from notification requirements releases associated with manure.

Opponent's Comments (Jim Ruen on AgProfessional.com, Oct. 3, 2011):
Since when can a fertilizer dealer operate without concern for environmental regulation and impact? Let's face it, we aren't talking about Ma and Pa Kettle with their six milk cows and three sows here spreading a load of manure on the back 40. We are talking about CAFO units with thousands of animals and tens of thousands or more tons/gallons of manure. While a few maybe spreading on their own land, most are selling it to area farmers. At a time when fertilizer dealers and companies have to be conspicuously careful with how they handle product, why shouldn't mega-livestock operators be equally regulated as they sell their "waste" product for its nutrient and soil building value. Since when do commercial N, P and K producers or handlers get a free ride from the EPA...or Congress?

Member of House Natural Resources Committee.

The U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources, or Natural Resources Committee, has jurisdiction over issues of:

Fisheries and wildlife, including research, restoration, refuges, and conservation.

Forfeiture of land grants and alien ownership, including alien ownership of mineral lands.

United States Geological Survey.

International fishing agreements.

Interstate compacts relating to apportionment of waters for irrigation purposes.

Irrigation and reclamation, including water supply for reclamation projects and easements of public lands for irrigation projects; and acquisition of private lands when necessary to complete irrigation projects.

Native Americans generally, including the care and allotment of Native American lands and general and special measures relating to claims that are paid out of Native American funds.

Insular possessions of the United States generally (except those affecting the revenue and appropriations).

Military parks and battlefields, national cemeteries administered by the Secretary of the Interior, parks within the District of Columbia, and the erection of monuments to the memory of individuals.

Mineral land laws and claims and entries thereunder.

Mineral resources of public lands, including the Outer Continental Shelf.

Mining interests generally.

Mining schools and experimental stations.

Marine affairs, including coastal zone management (except for measures relating to oil and other pollution of navigable waters).

Oceanography.

Petroleum conservation on public lands and conservation of the radium supply in the United States.

Preservation of prehistoric ruins and objects of interest on the public domain.

Public lands generally, including entry, easements, and grazing thereon.

Relations of the United States with Native Americans and Native American tribes.

Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline (except ratemaking).

Source: U.S. House of Representatives website, www.house.gov 11-HC-NRC on Feb 3, 2011

112th Mid-Term Humane Scorecard: The Humane Society Legislative Fund has posted the final version of the 2011 Humane Scorecard, where you can track the performance of your federal lawmakers on key animal protection issues during last year. We rated legislators based on their voting behavior on measures such as agribusiness subsidies, lethal predator control, and the Endangered Species Act; their cosponsorship of priority bills on puppy mills, horse slaughter, animal fighting, and chimps in research; their support for funding the enforcement of animal welfare laws; and their leadership on animal protection.
All of the priority bills whose cosponsorships we're counting enjoy strong bipartisan support; in the House, each of the four now has more than 150 cosponsors.

The Humane Scorecard is not a perfect measuring tool, but creating some reasonable yardstick and allowing citizens to hold lawmakers accountable is central to our work. When the Humane Scorecard comes out each year, it helps clarify how the animal protection movement is doing geographically, by party affiliation, and in other categories. It helps us chart our course for animals by seeing where we have been effective, and where we need to improve.